Glenmark defends its favipiravir based COVID-19 drug price after DCGI slaps notice

Defending the price of its COVID-19 drug, Glenmark Pharmaceutical on Tuesday, July 21 said that their drug FabiFlu, which is a generic version of favipiravir, was cheaper than remdesivir, tocilizumab, Itolizumab and many others.

The pharmaceutical company slammed “overpricing” allegations after it was slapped a notice by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). In an online statement, the Mumbai-based company clarified that its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) formulation for FabiFlu was “much more economical” and was an “effective treatment option”. 

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Responding to the notice, Glenmark called the complaint "unsubstantiated allegations devoid of merits”. Earlier, DCGI also called out the company over its “false and misleading” claims that the drug favipiravir alone was effective in the treatment of COVID-19.

The pharma giant claimed that the tablet was tested in persons with comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension in Phase III clinical trial and its efficacy in these co-morbidities was “evaluated”. However, in an explanation issued on July 20, the company said that the reference to comorbidity was based on data from the Japanese study on the clinical use of favipiravir in COVID-19. 

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Launched at lowest market cost Rs 103 per tab

In a statement, Glenmark mentioned that as compared to its price in other countries, the tablet was launched at the lowest market price of Rs 103/tab in India while adding that in Russia, Japan, Bangladesh, and China, the cost of the medicine was much higher.

Additionally, the company said that on 13th July 2020, Glenmark reduced the price of FabiFlu to INR 75/- per tablet to make the drug even more accessible to a larger section of the population.

“Despite investing significantly throughout the process of manufacturing, Glenmark has managed to keep the pricing of Favipiravir lower as compared to the price of Favipiravir in other countries,” the company said in the statement.  

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals had launched the first antiviral drug version of favipiravir under the brand name FabiFlu for the treatment of COVID-19 patients last month. The drug was the first oral favipiravir-approved medication by the DCGI and was made available with a prescription.

As per an official statement online, Glenmark has also completed the Phase III clinical trial of favipiravir (FabiFlu) in mild to moderate COVID-19 patients in India.  

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(Image credit: ANI)